Fish

Matsyasana

hold 60 s · intermediate · move in slowly, hold, come out the same way

Take care: Keep the head on its block, never hanging back; lower the blocks or skip it with a neck injury or if the lower back pinches.

Matsyasana supported on two blocks, the version taught most: a block on its lowest height lies lengthwise under the shoulder blades and a tall one under the back of the head. From propped on the elbows, the chest lowers back over the low block so the upper back arches and the chest opens about 17° up from the mat, the head resting on the high block; legs long, arms out to the sides, palms up.

Load and joint demand

Bodyweight: no weights. Joint demand below is your own body's weight in this position.

Faults

Faults grow with knee bend and apply to lifts standing on the floor. The fault check flags a knee caving more than 10° inside the line of the toes and a load split beyond 60/40. Knee cave shows best in the front camera.

Body

Femur changes keep standing height fixed by shortening or lengthening the torso. Longer femurs force more forward lean in any squat.

Muscles worked

Effort and your quota

Hold for 60 seconds: move into the pose slowly, breathe steadily, and come out the way you went in. Yoga is practised for control, balance and mobility, never to failure, so this does not change with your limits.

Level: intermediate. One round counts like light conditioning work: 19 push points, 23 core points.

Prime movers

Pectoralis major and minor (stretched), anterior deltoid (stretched), intercostals and abdominals (stretched), spinal erectors.

What to look for

• The low block goes under the shoulder blades, not the lower back.
• Head block high enough that the chin doesn’t lift toward the ceiling.
• Let the arms fall open, palms up, and breathe into the front of the chest.